A New Giant, or Something Else?

We are into Triathlon here in the Bike Cycling Reviews office, so it was nice to receive a question from a fellow Triathlete, Lawrence Chung. Lawrence has just ridden the Hong Kong Triathlon and he realizes that he needs a lighter bike, so who is he going to ask for advice? BCR of course!

Question: Hi Samuel.

The triathlon race in Hong Kong has been finished last Sunday and I can finish but the timing is little bit longer than my expectation. Maybe the weather is very hot, 31 degree C. I would like to change my bike in the first round because my Giant OCR bike (aluminum frame) is about 24 lbs. Would like to have a new bike with about 16lbs and the budget is about USD2,000. Do you have any suggestion?

Best regards,

Lawrence Chung.

Hi Lawrence,
Good to hear from you and good luck in your Triathlons. Yes a 24 lb bike is going to hold you back a little, so this is something you need to change to improve your times in races. Well, 2,000 USD is not too much to spend on a good bike, but we will search one out for you.

Giant

If you like the Giant then you could stay with them and up-grade to the Giant TCR AO, the geometry should be the same as the Giant bike you have. The equipment is from SRAM, the new Rival group set with Mavic Aksium wheels, Race Face handle bar and stem, Shimano pedals and a Fizik Aliante Delta saddle. I’m not sure of the weight but it will be lighter than your OCR. If you could find some more money or a bargain you could go for the time trial specific, Giant Trinity A0, it’s an out and out TT bike with the position you want for Triathlon, it also has a mix of Shimano Dura-Ace, Ultegra and 105. The wheels are Mavic Cosmic Elite and it has tri bars for that aero position.

TCR AO

Cannondale

The Canondale Synapse Carbon 1 Compact is just over the 2,000 mark and is a fine piece of Carbon with Shimano Ultegra and Dura-Ace gears, Shimano wheels, Fizik saddle and Cannondale bits and pieces. It’s a nice bike and would serve you well.

Cannondale

Trek

The Trek Madone is the bike of choice now from Trek and the 4.5 is in your price range. The frame is of the best construction and design, top carbon is used in the Madone range and it has great style. The equipment is Shimano 105 and Ultegra with other parts from Bontrager. The frame has the race proven geometry of Tour de France wins and the Trek technology behind it.

Madone 4.5

This is three/four bikes we like and that you can afford to buy, there are others, but most are more expensive. Have a look at some of the Bike Shops on line and try to buy an out of date bike, 2007 bikes are now becoming clearance lines, so keep your eyes open for a bargain.

Trinity